Mixed Greens Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Use any combination of greens hereromaine hearts, Boston lettuce, baby spinach or mesclun mix. A few bitter greens would be fine too, since the sweetness of the cranberry vinaigrette will soften their bite.
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Use any combination of greens hereromaine hearts, Boston lettuce, baby spinach or mesclun mix. A few bitter greens would be fine too, since the sweetness of the cranberry vinaigrette will soften their bite.
Ingredients
- 12 cups mixed salad greens
- 1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans (see Note), coarsely chopped (2 oz.)
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
Cranberry vinaigrette
- 2/3 cup (canned) whole-berry cranberry sauce
- 2 Tbs. cider vinegar
- 2 Tbs. fresh orange juice
- 2 tsp. pure maple syrup
Preparation
Make vinaigrette: In food processor or blender, combine half the cranberry sauce with vinegar and process until smooth. Scrape mixture into salad bowl and whisk in remaining cranberry sauce and orange juice, maple syrup, oil and salt to taste; set aside.
When ready to serve, put greens in bowl with dressing. Add pear and onion slices and toss well to coat with dressing. Sprinkle pecans and cheese over salad. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and serve.
Note: To toast pecans, preheat oven to 375ûF. Spread pecans on baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, 6 minutes. Transfer pecans to plate to cool, then chop.
Nutrition Information
- Calories 257
- Carbohydrate Content 25 g
- Cholesterol Content 8 mg
- Fat Content 17 g
- Fiber Content 3 g
- Protein Content 5 g
- Saturated Fat Content 4 g
- Sodium Content 175 mg
- Sugar Content 0 g